1942-1953

By jackme44

  • Executive order 9066 is signed.

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066 allowing the United States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the Japanese on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast.

  • Agreement for 1st Atomic Bomb is signed.

    The development of the first atomic bomb is signed into agreement between the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York.

  • Manhattan Project

    The first nuclear chain reaction is produced at the University of Chicago in the Manhattan Project, creating fission of the Uranium U-235, under the direction of physicists Arthur Compton and Enrico Fermi.

  • Opening of World's largest office building.

    On January, 15 1943 the world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

  • The Jefferson Memorial

    The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. is dedicated on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

  • 1st African American official in US State Department.

    Ralph Bunche appointed 1st African American official in US State Department.

  • The G.I. Bill of Rights.

    The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law, providing benefits to veterans.

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes President of US.

    Franklin D. Roosevelt sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as US President.
  • Period: to

    Yalta Conference.

    President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier Josef Stalin hold the Yalta Conference in the Soviet Union.

  • Sudden death of President Roosevelt.

    President Roosevelt dies suddenly; Vice President Harry S. Truman assumes the presidency and role as commander in chief of World War II.

  • Use of Atomic Bomb

    President Harry S. Truman gives the go-ahead for the use of the atomic bomb with the bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, the second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

  • United States enters the United Nations.

    By a vote of 65–7, the United States Senate approves the entry of the United States into the United Nations.

  • Harry Truman establishes Committee on Civil Rights.

    President Harry Truman establishes the President's Committee on Civil Rights to investigate the status of civil rights in the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of American citizens.

  • Creation of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council.

    U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into law, creating the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council, all in response to the Cold War.

  • Marshall Plan

    President Harry Truman signs the Marshall Plan, which authorizes $15 billion in aid for 16 countries.

  • Development of Hydrogen Bomb

    President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949.

  • Twenty-second Amendment.

    February 27 1951 The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

  • Expiration of The Marshall Plan.

    The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

  • U.S. Nuclear Submarine

    The keel is laid for the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Nautilus.

  • Announcement of Hydrogen Bomb

    President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb.

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower became the 34th president

    Dwight D. Eisenhower(R) is sworn in as the 34th President of the United States.

  • Nuclear Test.

    Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site, United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.